At the time when I was shopping in '06 all the American manufacturers wanted $38,000-40,000 for the same features in a truck! AND I've had no problems with the "spider web of electronics"; all new vehicles have lots of computer sensors and wiring. My wife owns an '04 Honda Pilot w/ 70,000 miles on it and all we've had to do is general maintenance on it- tires, oil, etc. (We got it for $29,900- Trailblazer was $40K) Ten years ago if you had told me I'd have 2 Japanese vehicles in my drive I would have laughed at you, but I am totally satisfied with our reliable and (comparatively) inexpensive vehicles.

S10- lemme guess, not the 4.3, that thing is a beast
Silverado- 305? eh they arent too great especially in a truck, idk about the tranny, my dad's got 220,000 mi on the same tranny

I'm a construction worker and at that time I was a pipe fitter laying natural gas pipelines nationwide. I did a lot of extended highway driving with that Z71 because of it. I had a mechanic tell me that those trannies had a design flaw; during highway driving they would become slightly oil starved but during stop & go city driving it would not. So, people like me went through transmissions.
And yes, the S10 was a 2.6 if memory serves me correctly. I did a ring job around 70K miles and put in a Crane cam, Edelbrock intake, headers, and a few other parts. It woke her up some; but it's like I've always said-
"There's no replacement for displacement!"

Well I can only speak for Ford as I own a 2006 F150 right now. It has been absolutely great! You can also find the 04-08 models relatively cheap right now as the '09 just came out with the new body style. If you stay in the '06, '07, '08 range you are looking at the best model years however the '04 and '05 are great as well.

I've got the Triton 5.4l with the 3.73 LS axle and tow package. I tow a 9000 lbs. boat as well as a 6000 lbs. boat and it handles both phenomenally!

I can't say enough good things about the Ford. These days, most of the trucks will do exactly what you ask of them. It's just the little things that can make the difference. I love the interior of my 150, its spacious, comfortable, and relatively quiet! Can't ask for more than that.

I love my Chevy Tahoe, and My dad has 2 chevy trucks (2500 and 3500) and they are nice. I havent been in a newer dodge, but I know ford F150s are nice.
If your looking for used, I would look on a good deal on either a ford or chevy.

GMS price (First time ever I got to use my Granddads GM discount) was $31,600 plus it was on the lot longer then 90 days so i got another $800 off.